Iran Four Christians to appear before Appeal Court

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) has
been informed that the appeal hearing for Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani,
Mohammadreza Omidi (Youhan), Yasser Mossayebzadeh and Saheb Fadaie will be
heard by a judge accused of having overseen miscarriages of justice, and whose
name appears on a list of Iranian individuals targeted for financial sanctions
in the United Kingdom (UK).

In July 2017, the head judge of the 26th Branch
of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Tehran,Judge
Ahmadzadeh, found the four Christians from
the Church of Iran denomination guilty of ‘acting
against national security’ by ‘promoting Zionist Christianity’, and sentenced
them to 10 years imprisonment each. Pastor
Nadarkhani and Mr Omidi also received additional two year sentences, to be
served in an inhospitable area in the south of the country.

Their appeal is expected to take place
on 4 September and will be heard by Judge
Ahmad Zargar, head of the 36th Branch of the Tehran Appeals Court. Judge Zargar, a Hojjatolislam, was amongst
several Iranian officials deemedresponsible
or complicitin serious human rights
violations in 2012, and was one
of six judges accusedin 2014 of having lost judicial impartiality
and overseeing miscarriages of justice in trials involving journalists,
lawyers, political activists and members of Iran’s ethnic and religious
minorities. His name is currently on the “Consolidated
List of Financial Sanctions Targets in the UK”, found on the FCO
website.

All four men were arrested on 13 May 2016, during a series of raids by security
agents on Christian homes in Rasht, and charged with ‘acting against
national security.’Mr Mossayebzadeh, Mr Fadaie and Mr Omidi are also awaiting
the outcome of their appeal against a sentence of 80 lashes each that was
handed down in 2016, following their conviction for drinking wine during a
communion service.

The period preceding and following
President Rouhani’s re-election has seen a steep
rise in the number of Christians being convicted on the basis
of vaguely-defined national security-related crimes for which they receive unduly
heavy sentences. Common charges include ‘acting against national security’,
‘insulting the sacred’ and ‘propaganda against the State’.

So far Judge Ahmadzadeh has sentencedat
least 16 Christians to between five and 10 years imprisonment, with one
receiving a 15-year sentence, according to records compiled by Article
18, an organisation that advocates on behalf of Iranian Christians.
Previously, the maximum sentence issued in such cases was five years, and when
defendants received two five-year sentences, these were reduced to five years
on appeal.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide’s Chief
Executive Mervyn Thomas, said: "The national security charges levelled
against these men were spurious, and their sentences are excessive, amounting
to a criminalisation of Christian practice. We hope the appeal court
judge will rule in accordance with the law and overturn the original verdict in
the interests of justice; however we have grave concerns about the judge who
has been selected to hear the case. We urge the Iranian government to ensure
due process in this case, and call for an annulment of the conviction of Mr
Omidi, Mr Mossayebzadeh and Mr Fadaie for drinking wine during a communion
service, as this effectively penalises the observance of one of the most
important Christian sacraments and violates the constitutional recognition of
Christianity. The international community must press the Government of Iran to
uphold this constitutional obligation, and to respect the right of
its citizens to the full enjoyment of freedom of religion or belief, as
outlined in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which
it is signatory.”

Notes
to Editors:

1.A Hojjatolislam is the clerical position immediately below an
Ayatollah